The Summer months have provided me with several obstacles when it comes to keeping up with the SOS Blog, however I do promise more posts as we head down the stretch run in baseball and the football talk starts to heat up. Hope you all have enjoyed the 'beautiful' weather that we've had.


--Enjoy the rest of CC vs. the Sawx.

The post All-Star break magic continued at Yankee Stadium earlier tonight as it was Hideki Matsui's turn to play the role of walk-off specialist.

In what was a carbon copy of yesterday's win over the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees relied on stellar starting pitching (Andy Pettitte) and two solo home runs (Eric Hinske & Hideki Matsui). These close wins that the Yankees have been having can have a bigger impact on the team as a whole than winning by landslides. There is something to be said for hard-fought victories.

With some bad news coming out of Chien-Ming Wang's side session, Sergio Mitre could give this team a real shot in the arm with a decent performance tomorrow night. In Triple-A Scranton, Mitre was 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA.


Meanwhile in our Nation's Capital, Livan Hernandez finally got back on track and gave the Mets his first decent outing in almost two months. The banged up Amazins' beat the Nationals 6-2 but were not able to gain any ground on the scorching-hot Phillies, who blew out the Cubs in Philly tonight.


---Anyone catch the T.O. show tonight on VH1? I am very proud (or ashamed) that I was able to stomach about five minutes of it before I HAD to turn it off. I don't know what Terrell Owens is worse at; being a good teammate or acting. Either way, those are five minutes I will never ever get back.

Photo Courtesy: Reuters


The story of the day as far as the New York sports scene is concerened is defintely Joba's tremendous outing and the Yankees completing the sweep of the Tigers on Old Timer's Day. A quick turn-around it must have been for Mike Mussina, as a year ago today, he was in the middle of a 20-win season and now he is considered an Old Timer.

Today's formula for success was simple:

A-Rod + Mark Teixeira + Joba Chamberlain + Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees continue their home stand against the Orioles this week.


Now for that other team...Add Fernando Nieve to the unbelievably long list of injured Mets. It has become quite the trend for the Mets to not only lose games, but lose players as well. Nieve had to be carted off the field with an apparent quad injury. His injury almost certainly buys more time for Tim Redding to be with the team, as most thought he would be released by the end of the weekend.

After losing three-out-of-four to the Braves this weekend, the Mets are nine games out of first place, and at this time, really have to be thinking Wild-Card, although that may become a distant thought within the next week or two.

During this horrid series in Atlanta, the Mets also lost Gary Sheffield. He hasn't been placed on the DL, but has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.

The Mets are off to Washington for a mid-week series against the Nationals. With the lineup the Mets are throwing out each day, even a series against the Nationals can't be an easy one.


OTHER NOTES:

---After giving up an early run to the Red Sox, Roy Halladay was lights-out in the Blue Jays' 3-1 win. Aside from the Yankee fan dreaming of Halladay doing that in a Yankee uniform, it also helped them get within a game of Boston for first plcae in the AL East.


---Was really pulling for Tom Watson to pull off one of the great sports stories in recent memory but it just wasn't to be. Stewart Cink beat out Watson in a four-hole playoff to take the British Open. You still have to admire and give all the credit in the world to Watson for being that close to winning a major championship at the age of 59.


---It's unreal what ESPN Reporter Erin Andrews is going through. Not going to give this story any more attention. All I will say is that the party(s) responsible belong in jail.


---Enjoy the ESPY's

It was actually a rather painless All-Star game last night, mainly because it didn't last until 1 A.M., as the AL beat the NL 4-3. Pitching was dominant for both teams, specifically with the AL relievers retiring 18 in a row at one point. I won't bore you with the details of the game itself, just know that for the seventh straight year, the AL will have home-field advantage in the World Series.

One other note from last night; Hats off to Major League Baseball as they did a tremendous job with the all of the pre-game festivities.


Quick Hits:

---Pedro has signed his contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Sure, his better days have passed him by, but you can't argue with taking on a chance on Martinez, who come late September and October, will be in mid-season form instead of dead tired, as he would most likely be if he had pitched the entire year.


---Damaso Marte (Remeber him?) is reportedly set to begin his rehab assignment after missing the last ten weeks with shoulder tendinitis. Hopefully more than just his achey shoulder will be fixed by the time he gets back. Before going on the DL, he only posted a 15.19 ERA.

Correction, he won the 'State Farm Home Run Derby.' Either way, it was tonight's contest was an absolute marathon. Despite a lack-luster performance in the first round in front of his home crowd, Albert Pujols won the 'swing off' and advanced into the second round where he was ultimately eliminated. Carlos Pena and Prince Fielder made it into the finals where Prince took it home. Overall, tonight's derby dragged at time, but I will never get sick of watching home runs travel insane distances.


Some other random thoughts...

--Roy Halladay says a chance of a trade is '50-50'. Both the Yankees and the Mets better hope that Halladay's final destination is not Boston or Philadelphia. Los Angeles (whether it be the Angels or Dodgers) would be semi-acceptable to New York fans, but any team that is on the fringe, who is lucky to land a pitcher of his caliber can start making reservations for some late-October baseball.


--Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo had another classic rant that has become an instant internet hit. This time he talks about the lack of success and the failures of his hand-picked show hosts that his channel has had in its first ten months or so. Hey Chris, Barry and I are available for an interview...Just throwing it out there. I have to say, after hearing the segment, I found myself missing Mad Dog.


QUICK HITS:

--Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Derrick Mason retired today.

--Pedro will be a Philadelphia Phillie by this time tomorrow.

--Tarvaris Jackson will reportedly demand a trade IF (or WHEN) Brett Favre signs on with the Minnesota Vikings.

------Watching 'Homecoming' on ESPN, hosted by Rick Reilly and featuring Jerry Rice before I get to bed. Remember Rick Reilly? Yeah, he used to write the (really good) final stories in Sports Illustrated before being swallowed by ESPN.

The second round of the Subway Series got off to an interesting start last night. A sloppy second inning by the Mets was key in helping the Yankees win their third straight overall and against the Mets by a score of 9-1. Alex Rodriguez passed Reggie Jackson and moved into sole position of 11th place on the all-time home run list, something that would have meant a whole lot more if this past spring's events never unfolded.

Gary Sheffield represented all of the Mets' offense with a solo home run. Other than that, CC Sabathia didn't make many more mistakes. He certainly earned his money last night.

Game two of the series takes place tonight, hopefully without any rain delays, but I wouldn't bet on that. AJ Burnett takes on Tim Redding.


---The Islanders have certainly made a splash, selecting John Tavares with the number one overall pick in last night's draft. Over 10,000 people filled the Nassau Coliseum for the Islanders' draft party. Defintely a good sign, as both the team and (hopefully) the Lighthouse Project look to a brighter future.

---The Ducks trading Chris Pronger, one of the game's most physically imposing defenseman to the Flyers, certainly makes Philadelphia a much stronger competitor in the Atlantic Division.


---It will be interesting to follow the storyline that is the Knicks and Ricky Rubio. Rubio's father has expressed displeasure in the fact that his son was drafted to a cold-weather climate and has more than hinted that he intends on playing out the remainder of his contract in Spain. Defintely a move by his people to get him out of Minnesota and into a big-time market, say New York?

---Meanwhile, Rubio may not be the only top-10 draft pick to be on the move. Several reports yesterday stated that the Warriors and Suns were in talks that would send Amare Stoudemire to Golden State for Stephen Curry, who was picked 7th overall by the Warriors. Curry looked just as disgusted and disappointed to be drafted by a failing franchise as Rubio did.

Well it has certainly been an interesting Subway Series thus far. As usual, a no-named, inexperience pitcher had the Yankees' number as Fernando Nieve was dominant. Andy Pettitte was not.

The rubber match takes place today as Johan Santana takes on AJ Burnett. With all of the struggles that Burnett has had in recent days, specifically coming off of that Boston debacle, a good outting today would go far in regaining confidence from the Yankee Manager and the Yankee faithful.


MLB Notes:

---Major League Baseball's trade market may be down one star as it looks like Jake Peavy may be out as much as 12 weeks with an ankle tendon injury. Stay tuned.

---The Rockies won their 10th straight game behind Staten Island's own Jason Marquis. For a team that has already fired their manager (Clint Hurdle) they have certainly corrected something. Unfortunately, they have no shot at winning the NL West but if they keep it up they may just be a team that plays a factor in the very crowded NL wild-card picture.


---Game 5 of the NBA Finals takes place tonight in Orlando. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers look to take home the title, while Dwight Howard and the Magic look to stay alive and force another trip back to Los Angeles.


---More about this tomorrow on the show, but I have to say that Friday night's hockey game was truly special. Imagine being Bill Guerin... Just a few months ago, he was in hockey pergatory AKA a New York Islander, and now he is a stanley cup champion.

Circumstances have forced a limitation on blogging for the weekend. We will return in full force tomorrow. However, two words will certainly be a hot topic on Monday's show...


'Penguins' and 'Castillo'

(Especially because Barry was there in person to see all that happened last night).

---It is the calm before the storm (literally if you live in the NY-metro area and were alive last night) as the Mets begin a tough stretch of their schedule with three at home against the first place Phillies.

Coming into the series, the Phils have a 3-game lead on the Mets, one that may continue to grow if the Mets do not get (and stay) healthy.


---The Yankees were able to get rid of one of the monkies on their back as they took two-out-of-three from the Rays. The balls continue to fly out of the park at a scary rate. They now must deal with the bigger monkey on their back, as they start a 3-game series in Fenway against the Red Sox. AJ Burnett MUST get some revenge on the Sawx after he blew that six run lead last month to them that many believe led to the rest of the Yankees' troubles with Boston.


Clash of the NHL & NBA in Primetime Tonight:


---Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight in Pittsburgh. Detroit is just one win away from hoisting the cup for the second consecutive year in the same amount of games, against the same team, in the same arena. Sports can be very odd at times.

-Speaking of hockey, it is being reported that Brent Sutter is leaving the New Jersey Devils to go back and coach a junior team in Alberta in which he owns. If this were any other franchise, there would be cause for concern. But with Lou Lamarillo in charge, the coach as well as the transition will undoubtedly work out well.


---Game 3 of the NBA Finals is also tonight as the Magic are in a 'must-win' situation after dropping the first two games in Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see how Stan Van Gundy gets his guys to respond, specifically after game two, which they should have won.


---Is the Vikings' deadline for Brett Favre really ESPN's?
Reports are surfacing that this supposed deadline was in fact made up by ESPN and that Brad Childress and Minnesota's front office never gave Favre any kind of deadline to make a decision on whether or not he was going to play. Just another twist in the annual 'Brett Favre Summer Saga'.


---Tonight marks the first crack at trying to turn Major League Baseball's draft into something similiar to the NFL draft. Good luck MLB Network, I will surely be watching.

(I wonder who will go first? hmmmmm...)

David Wright helped the Mets to save some face in the middle of this horrid stretch with that double in extra innings last night. Hopefully for the Mets, a hard-fought win like that can spark some momentum for the rest of the weekend.

Not only was last night's game rained out between the Yankees and Rays, but so was an excellent pitching matchup. Luckily we get it today as David Price takes on CC Sabathia. First pitch, 1:05.


---Zach Greinke is human after all. He had his first bad start of the season last night lasting only five innings against the Blue Jays in a 9-3 loss.

---Yankee fans must have felt great seeing or hearing about Carl Pavano's complete game shutout against the White Sox last night. It has become quite apparent that he never wanted to pitch in New York. Some of the injuries might have been legit, but I find it hard to believe that all four years worth were...

---Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight in Detroit. A pivotal game to say the least as Pittsburgh battled back after losing the first two games, to win games 3 and 4 at home. If the Penguins could some how find a way to win tonight, they would set up a chance to bring home the cup at the Igloo in Pittburgh on Tuesday.

---Friendly reminder, game 2 of the NBA Finals is tomorrow night.